Buffalo Wings

I actually bought The Hooters Cookbook about a month before I ever stepped foot into a Hooters. Though the recipes in the book sounded great, it was finding out that Hooters served Deep Fried Pickles that sent me to the newly opened Hooters in my area.

When the Hooters opened this summer locally, I joked with Mr. L that we should check it out (he had never been to a Hooters either) but it wasn't on the top of my list of 'need to try' restaurants. It was when the woman I was training mentioned that she thought they served Deep Fried Pickles that I decided to make a trip there. I've only had deep fried dills once (and that was about ten years ago at a Cajun restaurant in Denver) but I've been craving them and looking for them on menus ever since. Since it turned out that my trainee and I were both dill pickle freaks we decided a trip after work to sample Hooters version would be in order. Of course when our husbands found out that we were making this foray into uncharted territory, they both volunteered to go with us to Hooters to help us try out those fried dills. Should I mention that neither husband ate more than one fried dill pickle chip? Actually, the dill pickle chips were not that good. The pickles were sliced so thin that when you ate one of the pickle chips all you tasted was batter...very little dill pickle flavor. Both my trainee and I were disappointed.

Now Hooters itself was very interesting. We went right after work which put us in Happy Hour. Where we were greeted by Hooter Girls in tight tops and short shorts, attempting to hula hoop.  Where for $3 you could get ten wings in your choice of flavors. Not to mention cheap beer. With sports related events on the big screen tv's. And Hooters Girls. Now, don't get me wrong, it's not that they weren't nice or pretty, it's just...they definitely were not women. Most looked to be barely over 18. The husbands commented on how each one had such nice long hair (while my trainee and I laughed because we could see most had extensions). Lets just say I was not impressed that several had, er, muffin tops. Those tight outfits show a bit of all the wrong things if you know what I mean. Yes, they all wore nice push up bras so that the melons were all perky for everyone to see. Our waitresses were quite nice and friendly and I honestly had no problem with them. There were groups there with young children, there were older couples (and I mean my Grandparents age older) and there were groups of men. Yes, the Hooter Girls did treat the tables of "just men" different (watch how they lean against the tables when it's just a table of guys).  But it wasn't an x-rated type joint at all and I'd have no problem taking kids or my parents there to eat. Pubescent young hormonal boys though, might be a different matter.

Would I go back to visit? Actually yes, the not so great Deep Fried Pickles aside, the wings were really good and you couldn't beat the Happy Hour prices.

Since I liked the wings so much, I figured that would be the first thing I'd make out of the Hooters Cookbook. But after watching those girls do their hula hoop show I was concerned about cooking from the book...less Mr. L expect a show of his own (not that I couldn't put on a show, I was just concerned about doing it in the kitchen while messing with hot oil). Since I've never made wings before, I decided to start out with the simple, easy, standard wing recipe from the book.

These turned out to be incredibly simple to make, hot in flavor and very delicious. We used our little deep fryer and there was very little grease to the wings. Having never fried chicken wings before, I was a bit surprised at how much shrinkage to the wings there were. Even though our wings weren't greasy they were pretty messy to eat. Not sure how they make the sauce "stick" to the wings as the photo in the book shows a much dryer looking wing, but we didn't mind. I kept rubbing my chicken wings in any sauce that accumulated on the plate. Though I did dip a few of the wings in ranch dressing, I ate most, like Mr. L, with just the sauce. Simple, basic, easy. This goes in the "we make often" category.

BUFFALO WINGS

18 chicken wings
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup hot red pepper sauce
Vegetable oil, for frying
Bleu cheese dressing, for dipping
Paper Towels

Cut the chicken wings into three sections and discard the wing tips.

Melt the butter in a small pan. Add the hot sauce and remove from heat. Set aside.

Heat 1 inch of oil in a large frying pan or deep-fat fryer to 360 degrees F. Fry the wings in batches, without crowding them, for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Brush the wings with the spicy butter mixture and serve warm with the bleu cheese dressing for dipping. Makes 3 servings (served two for us).

Note: I used butter. I used Tabasco Sauce. We substituted ranch dressing for bleu cheese.

Note: We fried these in our little deep fryer. It took about ten minutes for each batch.

Note: I'm sure different hot sauces will result in different flavors. We plan on trying a few of the different hot sauces we have in the cupboard on subsequent batches. Mr. L took the wing tips and fried those up and ate them with leftover sauce for a "snack".

These really were tasty and a great recipe to start with when it comes to wings. I plan on trying Hooters Beer-Battered version, along with their Waikiki Wings next.

Note: No hula hoops were harmed in the making of this recipe.

Comments

[Chris Lemon]

You might see if you can catch the episode of Good Eats about wings that my Tivo caught the other night. I think Alton baked 'em, citing that there was no need to fry since there was still loads of grease in the form of chicken fat. It was interesting! (And it made me crave wings! :))

[Lisa]

Hooters wings are great. Never had deep fried pickles though.

[Veron]

I wasn't impressed with the hooters wings when I went that one time. I wasn't impressed with the girls either. We were in orlando and the girls looked rather....alien-ish.

[noble pig]

I know, the Hooter girls do have muffin tops which is hilarious, too many wings maybe?

[Jan]

Here is a story about pubescent boys and Hooters. Many years ago we were in a Hooters in Florida. I think my youngest son was about 10 or 11. His eyeballs were just about falling out of his head. I made a laughing comment to him and he got all huffy and said he wasn't staring at the girls. Not 5 minutes later as he was trying to not stare - but stare, while talking a sip of his pop - he shoved the straw up his nose! I never laughed so hard. Even he couldn't help but laugh and admit he was enjoying the view.

[We Are Never Full]

i totally LOL'ed reading the first line of this post... but, seriously, hooters wings are amazing. i was a hooters girl for halloween about 10 years ago... maybe i need to bust the outfit out again (no pun intended?) and make these wings?

who knew there was a hooters cookbook!? awesome.

[Louise]

Not sure where I should start with this comment, with the Hot, or the Wings. Mrs L, you did cover the Hot pretty well, so I'll go onto the wings. My hubby and I went on a homemade wing quest several years back, and let me tell you, deep fried is IT! There is just no other way. On the other hand, between the deep fried and the hot sauce, be prepared for some serious indigestion. Ugh. We've now moved on to Miami Hot Wings in the ever inspired Miami Spice book by Steven Raichlen.

[Psychgrad]

I've never gone to a Hooter's restaurant. We have one or two here, but I'm not a fan of girls walking around in next to nothing. However, I do love the recipe. I've been making a baked variation of it for several years now. With the double coating of the flour and letting it sit in the fridge between coatings for a least an hour, I don't miss the frying.

[peabody]

We used to go to Hooters in AZ often because they do have pretty good wings.

[Emiline]

Would you believe I've never been to a Hooters before?

I love chicken wings, though. These sound very good... mmm, butter...

[Carolyn Jung]

Is there such a thing as a GOOD fried pickle? Seriously? Although I have not tried the Hooters' ones, I have had the ones at The Counter. Not worth the calories or the money. I always thought anything fried had to be good. But not sure that's true with pickles.

[Jude]

Had no idea they served fried pickles. I've been trying to cross it out of my must try list for a while now.

[Jeanette]

We first tried deep fried pickles in North Carolina last year and have been hooked ever since. So my hubby makes them from time-to-time.

And you've just inspired a xmas gift idea. The Hooters Cookbook. Gonna get that for the guy in my life. He loves buffalo wings!

[Mrs. L]

Chris - We actually record most Good Eats but I think we missed that one. I'll have to check.

Lisa - Well, maybe not try them at Hooters but do try them somewhere if you like pickles.

Veron - Alian Hooters girls? Maybe that will start a trend.

Noble Pig - To much of something.

Jan - I would have laughed too. Do you every remind your son of this?

We Are Never Full - Awe come on, we need to see that Hooters Costume!

Louise - I actually remember your foray into finding wings...it's always stayed with me and why I have these "must make ten recipes of 'X' so I can find the best one" attitude!

[Mrs. L]

Psychgrad - I'd say everyone should go to a Hooters...just for the comic relief!

Peabody - I really liked the wings. Some people don't, but they certainly worked for me (both at the place and the ones I made at home).

Emiline - I was surprised my husband had never been. You should go to try the wings if you are a wing fan.

Carolyn - I have a feeling that real "cajun" or southern places do the pickles better than chain restaurants. Don't give up on them yet.

Jude - Well, if you must try them there, but otherwise wait to find a better place to get the deep fried pickles.

Jeanette - How fun! Glad I could help on the Christmas list. I might have to buy one of the cookbooks for a few friends of mine too.

[giz]

OK, deep fried pickles just sounds really wrong to me. I'd be really curious to see what they taste like (if I could handle sodium or fat that is). The wings look really good. I actually have a recipe for what they call Hooter wings on our site that are baked and you'd never know they were baked - really yummy. At least I thought it was Hooter's - maybe it's really Alton Brown's recipe :)

[andrea]

I made the Alton Brown buffalo wings last weekend. Steaming the wings got rid of some of the fat, the baked result was nice and crispy. I used a combination of tobasco and a mexican hot sauce with the butter. NotBF loved them.